April 2010

While Apple may tinker with the final packaging and design of the final phone, it’s clear that the features in this lost-and-found next-generation iPhone are drastically new and drastically different from what came before. Here’s the detailed list of our findings:

• Improved display. It’s unclear if it’s the 960×640 display thrown around before—it certainly looks like it, with the “Connect to iTunes” screen displaying much higher resolution than on a 3GS.

• What looks to be a secondary mic for noise cancellation, at the top, next to the headphone jack

• Split buttons for volume

• Power, mute, and volume buttons are all metallic

What’s changed

• The back is entirely flat, made of either glass (more likely) or ceramic or shiny plastic in order for the cell signal to poke through. Tapping on the back makes a more hollow and higher pitched sound compared to tapping on the glass on the front/screen, but that could just be the orientation of components inside making for a different sound

• Internals components are shrunken, miniaturized and reduced to make room for the larger battery

How it feels

Freaking amazing. As a person who never really liked the round mound of a back in the 3GS, the sleeker, flatter, squarer design is super welcome. It feels sturdier than the 3GS, and much less plasticky. The metal buttons give it a heftier feel—less of a toy—than all previous generations. The closest analog to it would be the original iPhone, which is more square and heavy than its newer brothers.

It feels completely natural up to your face, and the fact that both the front and the back are glossy makes no difference on how well you can hold it without the phone slipping. And because it’s thinner, it feels even nicer in your pants.

AtlNightSpots.com: Part time Actress and full time MILF Stacey Dash’s Smooth magazine pictures and interview.Stacey talks about Jamie Foxx, love, sex and about cooking. Stacey reveals that after sleeping with her ex-husbands on the first night, they proposed a week later. That’s a grown as woman move who knows what she wants and knows the power of her Pu$y. Propz Pookie Cuzzin & Indo on the scans

Smooth: What can a man do to make you melt?Stacey Dash: Make me laugh. If you can make me laugh, you’re in.

Smooth: Is there anything physical that you look for in a man? Do you have a type?Stacey Dash: There’s nothing physical that I specifically have to have. Oh, maybe nice hands. Nice hands are very important.

Smooth: Finish this sentence: I feel most sexy when…Stacey Dash: I feel most sexy when I’m in love. My stomach flips. I get butterflies.
Smooth: Would that describe your relationship with Jamie Foxx?Stacey Dash: We’re friends. We like each other. We have fun together. We hang out. He makes me laugh.

Smooth: He sounds like a pretty good fit for you.Stacey Dash: He might be. I don’t know. At the moment, I’m staying single and he appreciations that.

Smooth: We came across something tha said that Jamie was talking about certain…intimacies.Stacey Dash: What do you mean by intimacies?

Smooth: It said you’d had sex.Stacey Dash: He didn’t say that. You can’t believe what you read.

Smooth: Set the record straight for us.Stacey Dash: If that had happened, I would admit it, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Smooth: Has Jamie done anything romantic for you?Stacey Dash: Yes, he took me to the Oscars. We went to all the Oscar parties. That was really romantic. We had a really nice time.

Smooth: What’s your definition of love?Stacey Dash: I think love is amazing. I’m in love with love. I just don’t know what it is in a relationship yet. I’ve been marrried three times and divorced three times. At this point, I’m trying to fall in love with myself. And hopefully after I do that, I’ll be able to fall in love and stay in love with someone else.

Smooth: Do you think you’ll ever get married again?Stacey Dash: I never say never. It’s whatever God’s will is. But I hope so. I think marriage is a beautiful thing.

Smooth:We heard somewhere you slept with all your husbands on the first night. Is that true?Stacey Dash: Yes, I slept with all my husbands on the first night. And they said, “Marry Me” and I said, “yes.”

Smooth:They asked you that day?Stacey Dash: Like, maybe a week later.

Smooth: Wow, you must have done some special things to them. Is that something you’d do again?Stacey Dash: No, I’m not doing that anymore. At the moment, I’m holding the kitty hostage. I’m trying to do things differently.

Smooth: How do you know when it’s right to go there with a guy?Stacey Dash: I don’t know. It’s not something that I predict, but it’s something that I’m trying to figure out. I’ve been engaged six times and married three, so this is my first time being single. What I’m trying to figure out is how to get to know someone when the attraction is not strong at first. Does it come over time? I don’t know. There are these men that you meet and the attraction is instant. You just want to bed with them right there. But I’m not doing that. I’m trying to see where the middle ground is at.

Smooth: Would you say that you’re romantic?Stacey Dash: Yes, I’d say that very much so.

Smooth: What’s something romantic that you do for someone you’re seeing?Stacey Dash: I’ll surprise them when they come home with a sexy outfit and some music and candies.

Smooth: They say the way to a man’s heart is through this stomach. Can Stacy Dash cook?Stacey Dash: Stacey Dash can cook. But let’s get it straight: I don’t like to cook. If I’m in the mood, I can cook, but I don’t want you count on me to cook for you every day, because it’s not going to happen.

The news broke that after a long battle with cancer, Keith Elam aka Guru from the group GangStarr, passed away on Monday at the age of 43. Just Blaze tweeted this overlooked album cut about lost loved ones, “In Memory Of,” from Guru and DJ Premier’s incredible Moment of Truth album from 1998.

Sadly, even the news of Guru’s death is sullied by the divisive nature of his alleged final statement….And while I’m kind of shocked that some reputable news sources just included the statement without any reference to the debate about the statement’s legitimacy….you can read it for yourself, after the jump…

Guru has been hospitalized since early March, but ever since his condition worsened and his health issues became public, there’s been an uncomfortable series of press releases, youtube pleas, and rumors from opposing sides of Guru’s personal circle. There was his business partner and best friend, Solar, who even gained “power of attorney” for Guru. And then there were Guru’s relatives, who mounted a campaign to protest Solar’s control over Guru’s affairs. As for fans, they were left with little solid information about Guru’s condition…

In the press release announcing Guru’s passing, Solar dramatic wording but very little new detail about cause of death, with phrases like: “malicious illness for over a year and after numerous special treatments under the supervision of medical specialists failed.” But what kind of cancer was this? Especially since it caused, reportedly, both cardiac arrest and a coma? And the coma is key concern to many Guru friends because it is unclear if Guru ever came out of his medically-induced coma. Meanwhile, in Solar’s statement, he says “Guru prepared this letter while he was in the hospital for the fans…”:

I, Guru, am writing this letter to my fans, friends and loved ones around the world. I have had a long battle with cancer and have succumbed to the disease. I have suffered with this illness for over a year. I have exhausted all medical options. I have a non-profit organization called Each One Counts** dedicated to carrying on my charitable work on behalf of abused and disadvantaged children from around the world and also to educate and research a cure for this terrible disease that took my life. I write this with tears in my eyes, not of sorrow but of joy for what a wonderful life I have enjoyed and how many great people I have had the pleasure of meeting.

My loyal best friend, partner and brother, Solar, has been at my side through it all and has been made my health proxy by myself on all matters relating to myself. He has been with me by my side on my many hospital stays, operations, doctors visits and stayed with me at my home and cared for me when I could not care for myself. Solar and his family is my family and I love them dearly and I expect my family, friends, and fans to respect that, regardless to anybody’s feelings on the matter. It is my wish that counts. This being said I am survived by the love of my life, my sun KC, who I trust will be looked after by Solar and his family as their own. Any awards or tributes should be accepted, organized approved by Solar on behalf myself and my son until he is of age to except on his own.

I do not wish my ex-DJ to have anything to do with my name likeness, events tributes etc. connected in anyway to my situation including any use of my name or circumstance for any reason and I have instructed my lawyers to enforce this. I had nothing to do with him in life for over 7 years and want nothing to do with him in death. Solar has my life story and is well informed on my family situation, as well as the real reason for separating from my ex-DJ. As the sole founder of GangStarr, I am very proud of what GangStarr has meant to the music world and fans. I equally am proud of my Jazzmatazz series and as the father of Hip-Hop/Jazz. I am most proud of my leadership and pioneering efforts on Jazzmatazz 4 for reinvigorating the Hip-Hop/Jazz genre in a time when music quality has reached an all time low. Solar and I have toured in places that I have never been before with GangStarr or Jazzmatatazz and we gained a reputation for being the best on the planet at Hip-Hop/Jazz, as well as the biggest and most influential Hip-Hop/Jazz record with Jazzmatazz 4 of the decade to now. The work I have done with Solar represents a legacy far beyond its time. And we as a team were not afraid to push the envelope. To me this is what true artists do! As men of honor we stood tall in the face of small mindedness, greed, and ignorance. As we fought for music and integrity at the cost of not earning millions and for this I will always be happy and proud, and would like to thank the million fans who have seen us perform over the years from all over the world. The work I have done with Solar represents a legacy far beyond its time and is my most creative and experimental to date. I hope that our music will receive the attention it deserves as it is some of the best work I have done and represents some of the best years of my life. (source)

Hopefully, the simple truth of whether or not Guru was ever physically and mentally capable of writing this letter will come to light. If he was able to write the letter, then we all have to accept that his last wishes were to claim that he was the “sole founder” and denounce the shared legacy of Guru and Premier. If he was not able to write or even dictate this letter, then by even including the words “I, Guru, am writing this letter…”, Solar is doing his best friend a terrible disservice all in the effort to push a future agenda. The unanswered questions will taint all of the “events, tributes” and “awards” that the letter makes such a point of preparing for.

**According to Villanova University, there is an “each one counts” foundation that was founded by former Villanova basketball player Brian Harrington and assistant basketball coach Doug West to help chronically or terminally ill children. I’m not sure if this is the same non-profit that the alleged Guru letter refers to.

Last week I had a conversation with two old friends. But what was remarkable about this wasn’t the fact that they called, or even what we talked about….what really meant something is that, for the first time in over three years, these two guys were calling me together…

“Minya, it’s Jimmy….I’m sitting in the passenger seat of this car right now. I want you to talk to the driver real quick.”

“Ok, Jimmy.”

[brief pause] “What up, Min. It’s Cam…”

Yes!! Now we’re finally getting somewhere…Before I could start grilling them about the who/what/where/why/when….Jimmy made it very clear that he had to get something off his chest, with Cam right there…

Jim Jones said:“It’s 2010, and this is something I gotta get off my chest…You’ve known us from back when we didn’t have what we have now, so you remember, that above all, me and Cam, we still brothers. And we’re building on getting back on track but first, I apologize for being a rude brother, for saying things publicly without first trying to handle them privately. I apologize for not leading by example because what I didn’t realize at the time, I was venting but it wasn’t all about me. There were other people whose dreams were also part of this movement. So by not leading by example, they were left stranded too. The way I handled our business issues was with emotion, and it got totally f–ked up. That’s what selfishness does….”

“…I have demons that I’m learning to deal with. We’re all successful, me and Cam and Juelz, so we’re blessed. But that comes with responsibilities. I had complaints and I’m not backing away from the issues I had, but I’m just mad at how I handled them. The business of the Diplomats could have been fixed before. But by putting my emotions out in the public, it only made things worse. And of course, some of us became bitter about it. We had this luxurious life, but the rest of the family, they had slow down because of the ball I started rolling. I’d be pissed at me too…

But God works in mysterious ways…a couple people took vacations, and there’s a lane that’s wide open. What we built solo since Dipset grew apart, we can combine and make even stronger together. I needed to clear my conscious before we work on building a bigger and better movement. Plus, consider it fair warning to everyone else.”

When Cam got back on the phone, he was definitely more pragmatic and cautious with his words.

Cam’ron:“There’s nothing really Diplomats-related to show you yet. We all have our own obligations right now, our own projects. I have this Boss of All Bosses Pt. 2.5 mixtape with Vado and DJ Drama dropping soon. But yes, me and Jim have been speaking, we’re working out the mechanics of this, and looking at our options right now. If it makes sense, it can happen.”